8/2/2019 The Role of Occupational Therapy in Facilitating Employment of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities

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What Are Developmental Disabilities?

The U.S. Department o Health and Human Services denes

developmental disabilities as severe, lielong disabilities that are

attributable to a mental and/or physical impairment, maniested

beore age 22 years, and likely to continue indenitely. These

impairments result in substantial unctional limitations in

three or more areas o major lie activity (Administration on

Developmental Disabilities, 2009).

In the United States, more than 40% o individuals with

disabilities who are capable o working with accommodations are

unemployed, in spite o legislative requirements or reasonable

accommodations (Dick & Golshani, 2008). Occupational therapy

practitioners can acilitate work opportunities in varied settings such as individual competitive work, supported

employment at sheltered workshops, enclaves, mobile work crews, and transitional employment or these

individuals. With an appropriate job match, those with developmental disabilities can fourish in the open job

market or explore supported work options.

 The Role of OT in Facilitating Work SkillsOccupational therapy practitioners assess demands o the workplace and evaluate an individual’s abilities as well

as barriers to task completion specic to a setting. Many occupational therapists are trained to optimize worker

perormance and minimize the risk o repetitive strain injury by tting jobs to workers. For a successul job match,

an occupational therapist trained in ergonomics can evaluate the ollowing three primary components o the job(s)

in question:

• Physical Demands: Reers to postural/positional requirements (i.e., standing, squatting); external orce

requirements (i.e., liting weight, grip and pinch orces); limb and dexterity requirements; physiological

requirements; duration o the work shit; and amount o time that activities are perormed.

• Cognitive Demands: Includes such components o thinking as memory, ability to learn, problem solving

capabilities, and intuitive thought processes.

• Behavioral/Emotional Demands: Reers to the accepted social processes and interactions that are required to

perorm the job duties, and includes emotional regulation, communication, monitoring saety o sel and/

or others, initiative (the ability to sel-start), and management o others.

Providing Supports in the Workplace

As persons with developmental disabilities explore their work options, occupational therapy practitioners assist

by completing prevocational or vocational assessments, job analyses, and unctional capacity evaluations. To be

successul, the individual is matched to a job classication or which he or she has the physical, cognitive, and

behavioral/emotional capability to perorm across all demand levels. In addition, adaptive equipment or techniques

can be used with many job unctions to accommodate perormance by someone with a disability. To prepare high

school students or employment, occupational therapy practitioners may work as part o a multidisciplinary team

within school work-study programs or community-based programs.

The Role of Occupational Therapy in

Facilitating Employment of Individuals WithDevelopmental Disabilities

www.aota.org

4720 Montgomery Lane, PO Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20842-1220Phone: 301-652-2682 TDD: 800-377-8555 Fax: 301-652-7711

8/2/2019 The Role of Occupational Therapy in Facilitating Employment of Individuals With Developmental Disabilities

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Occupational therapy enables people of all ages live life to its fullest by helping them to promote health, make lifestyle orenvironmental changes, and prevent—or live better with—injury, illness, or disability. By looking at the whole picture—a client’spsychological, physical, emotional, and social make-up—occupational therapy assists people to achieve their goals, function atthe highest possible level, maintain or rebuild their independence, and participate in the everyday activities of life.

The ollowing are some o the ways in which occupational therapy practitioners may acilitate employment:

• Evaluate and address sensory, motor, and perceptual abilities o the person as part o a prevocational/

vocational needs assessment, or ongoing support or a work-study program.

• Evaluate the work site to examine the sensory, motor, and perceptual requirements o specic work tasks,

along with environmental actors such as noise, clutter, and the distance to the closest bathroom.

•

Match the client’s abilities with specic job requirements, then abricate needed supports (e.g., widerhandles or gripping tools, noise-reducing headphones, a nonslip surace).

• Determine accessibility and saety o work area and recommend adaptive equipment.

• Do a task analysis o job requirements and outline the components into a sequence. A written script ensures

that multiple helpers (e.g., job coaches, therapists, special educators) all ollow the same sequence.

• Create programs or skill development needed or job completion (e.g., improving standing tolerance and

nger dexterity).

• Develop and implement programs and adaptations or independence in activities such as toileting,

grooming, and eating meals in a socially appropriate manner.

• Recommend access options or communication systems or a communication device, possibly in

collaboration with the speech-language pathologist.

• Explore job possibilities not previously discerned by the employer or work-study coordinator.

Occupational therapy practitioners can also assist individuals with developmental disabilities to transition to

retirement communities and new jobs i desired; and with maintaining health, wellness, and social participation as

they age.

Conclusion

Occupational therapy practitioners can assist individuals with developmental disabilities to successully engage in

work tasks and satisactorily participate in meaningul work roles across the liespan.

Developed for AOTA by Asha Asher, MA, MEd, OTR/L, FAOTA; Ricardo C. Carrasco, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA; and

Michael Gerg, MS, OTR/L, CEES, CWCE.

Copyright © 2010 American Occupational Therapy Association. All rights reserved. This material may be printed and distributed

without prior written consent.

References

Administration on Developmental Disabilities. (2009). What are developmental disabilities? Retrieved January 9, 2010, from

www.acf.hhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/add_factsheet

Dick, W., & Golshani, K. (2008). An accessibility lane on the information superhighway. IEEE Multimedia, 15(4), 22–26.

Resource

American Occupational Therapy Association. (2005). Statement: Occupational therapy services in facilitating work performance. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59, 676–679.